Trump's protection racket in the Strait of Hormuz effectively blockades the good guys, violates international law same as Iran

 UN maritime agency opposes Hormuz transit fees after Trump demands protection money

The International Maritime Organization, a United Nations agency, said Monday that it opposes transit fees in the Strait of Hormuz after President Donald Trump demanded that ships pay protection money.

“We have always been consistent on our stance on fees – IMO stands firmly against charging fees for passage through straits used for international navigation,” a spokesperson said.

“There is no legal basis through which to introduce mandatory tolls simply to transit through a strait,” the spokesperson said.

... Tolls to transit Hormuz are against international law, said James Kraska, an expert on international maritime law at the U.S. Naval War College. The world has an unimpeded right to transit Hormuz, Kraska said. ...  

Incompetent organized crime boss imposes protection fees on Strait of Hormuz cargo which he will also blockade

 

 The tyrant is the real slave. He is mastered by a whole host of conflicting desires, none of which he is therefore able to in any way satisfy.  

Trump proposes 20% toll on cargo through Strait of Hormuz; restarts Iran blockade

President Donald Trump on Monday said the U.S. will impose fees in the Strait of Hormuz “at the rate of 20% on all cargo shipped,” after declaring America’s role as the “guardian” of the major oil-shipping route. ...  Trump’s post asserts that commercial vessels attempting the transit must now pay protection money to the U.S. ... 

“The U.S.A. will be, from this point forward, known as ‘THE GUARDIAN OF THE HORMUZ STRAIT,’” he claimed. “But as such, and as a matter of FAIRNESS, will be reimbursed, at the rate of 20% on all cargo shipped, for any and all costs necessary to do the job of providing safety and security to this very volatile section of the World.”

“The process and formation will begin immediately,” he added. ... 

 

 

Trump won't renew his best agreement ever made with Canada and Mexico lol

 U.S. won’t renew USMCA, opening door for negotiations with Canada and Mexico

... The USMCA was negotiated during Trump’s first term to replace the previous, 26-year-old trilateral trade pact known as NAFTA, which Trump frequently excoriated as a raw deal for the U.S.

When the new deal came into effect in July 2020, Trump touted it as “the fairest, most balanced, and beneficial trade agreement we have ever signed into law.” ...  

Aside from the fact the president thinks this is a good thing when he normally doesn't, Why in June 2026 is the president linking to a Reuters article from January 2026 talking about the 94.6% increase in the trade deficit in November 2025?

Aside from the fact the president thinks this is a good thing when he normally doesn't, Why in June 2026 is the president linking to a Reuters article from January 2026 talking about the 94.6% increase in the trade deficit in November 2025, the largest increase since March 1992, is the question you should be asking yourself. 

Of course the numbers have been revised in the interim, but the November 2025 percent change was still YUGE.

And yes, what does that have to do with the report of the April number today, which is the occasion of the president's post?

The answer is nothing. 

Needless to say, Trump thinks trade deficits are a bad thing when he has all his marbles together, which this evening he clearly does not.

And we called Joe Biden President Applesauce Brains. 

And incidentally, President Trump has a cumulative trade deficit to date of $1.154 trillion. 

 

Iran is charging $2 million in protection money in exchange for safe passage of some vessels through the Strait of Hormuz

 Not only do the Iranians control the Strait, they've turned it into a racket.

Vessels have been tracked passing between Qeshm and Larak, presumably for visual inspection, instead of through the main track of the Strait of Hormuz. 

... More than 20 vessels of over 10,000 dwt have thus far made the detour, which goes between Iran’s Qeshm and Larak Islands. ...

More. 

 

How war escalates to consume the state: Things don't go right after two weeks (!) and suddenly Trump needs NATO to come to his rescue and Congress to fork over an additional $200 billion which we don't have

 All because of one, supremely disordered soul.

 

 

 

‘We will remember’: Trump warns countries to help secure Strait of Hormuz as shipping stalls (Mar 16)

Hegseth says potential $200 billion Iran war spending request could shift: ‘Takes money to kill bad guys’ (Mar 19)

The massive trade deficits were the main reason Trump instituted his equally massive tariffs to eliminate them, but they're still here lol

 

 U.S. trade deficit totaled $901 billion in 2025, barely budging despite Trump’s tariffs

The U.S. trade deficit swelled in December, closing out a year in which the imbalance was essentially unchanged despite efforts by the Trump administration to close the wide gap.

Closing out a tumultuous year in the global marketplace, the goods and services shortfall in December totaled $70.3 billion, the Commerce Department reported Thursday. That marked an increase of $17.3 billion from November and was well above the Dow Jones consensus estimate of $55.5 billion.

For the full year, the U.S. ran a $901.5 billion deficit, down slightly from 2024 but only by 0.2%, or $2.1 billion. The total was also a bit less than the record $923.7 billion shortfall in 2022.

The report follows a year in which President Donald Trump implemented a series of aggressive tariffs aimed at leveling the global playing field. In April, Trump announced an across-the-board duty of 10% on all imports as well as so-called reciprocal tariffs aimed at specific countries that had run up surpluses against the U.S.

However, during the course of the year Trump softened many of those positions, and negotiations with major trading partners are ongoing.

In an effort to get ahead of the tariffs, companies front-loaded imports during the first three months of the year. The trend abated following the early effort, with October registering the lowest monthly deficit since 2009.

The U.S. had its largest goods deficit with the European Union, at $218.8 billion, followed by China, at $202.1 billion, and Mexico, at $196.9 billion.

Exports for 2025 totaled $3.43 trillion for all of 2025, up $199.8 billion from 2024. Imports also rose, totaling $4.33 trillion, an increase of $197.8 billion.

The U.S. trade balance has worsened after one year of Trump tariffs lol

 

Trade balance soared 94% in November and was higher than a year ago, despite tariff efforts

 

... On a year-over-year basis, the deficit through November stood at $839.5 billion, or about 4% higher than the same period in 2024. 

The increase in the deficit counters Trump’s efforts to use tariffs to reduce imbalances around the globe. When announcing so-called reciprocal tariffs in April 2025, the White House used the level of trade deficits with varying countries as a baseline for determining the duties. ...

As usual Trump puts the cart before the horse: If you don't already have total access, you're not in charge

And you don't put protective tariffs on trade when you have nothing to protect.

 

“We’re in charge,” he told reporters. “We need total access. We need access to the oil and to other things in their country that allow us to rebuild their country.”

More. 

Michigan's Pete Hoekstra, a phony baloney plastic banana good time libertarian free trader, now touts tariffs as Trump's ambassador to Canada which kill jobs in his congressional district

 

In Congress, He Said Tariffs Were Bad for Business. As Trump’s Ambassador to Canada, He’s Reversed Course. 

 

Victor Davis Hanson wouldn't know chaos if it walked up and introduced itself

 

Democrats Wielding Chaos as a Strategy

Victor Davis Hanson, American Greatness

 

This guy is delusional. 

 

I thought we were going to invade Greenland, Canada, and Panama at the beginning of the year, but instead we've actually gone to war in Yemen, Iran, and now Venezuela and maybe even Nigeria, all in nine months. But yeah, the Democrats are responsible for all the chaos.

 

I thought we were going to cut federal spending with Elon Musk at the helm, but all we got was a phony Republican tax and spending plan for the Fourth of July which has put us $2 trillion more in debt just four months later. But damn all those fired government workers who showed up in Virginia this week to vote for a Democrat for governor.

 

Everyday it's some new bullshit from Mad King Ludwig, but this egghead is upset that the public is reacting negatively to each new pile of it.

 

The administration and MAGA do not talk enough about . . . tolerable inflation . . . a calmer Middle East . . .

 

Good god, man, Joe Six Pack can't afford a lousy hamburger at McDonald's and the Red Sea is no longer safe for free trade.

 

 

 

  

Mad King Ludwig is delusional, Reagan loathed tariffs in principle

 

As Mad King Ludwig speeds a carrier strike group from the Med to the Caribbean, American failure to restore freedom of navigation in the Red Sea is highlighted by the latest Suez Canal navigation report for 3Q2025

 It's a picture of dismal failure.

The U.S. Navy has not made the Red Sea safe for free trade.

The Houthis remain a potent threat to shipping. 

3Q2025 statistics compared with 3Q2023 show the number of ships transiting the Suez Canal down 49.8%.

Net tons passing through is down 65.8%.

 

 

Lying Trump will never rise to the level of Reagan, let alone of any other president

 If Reagan were alive today, he'd reject Donald Trump and his trade war against the whole world, including and especially against our friends and allies in Canada.

Reagan's full remarks from April 1987, excerpted by Doug Ford in the ad, are shown below.  

Trump claimed Canada’s anti-tariff ad twisted Reagan’s words. Compare for yourself

 

Ontario to pause Reagan tariffs ad after Trump terminated Canada trade talks

Look at that flight to US Treasury safety

 

Trump unleashes sweeping new tariffs in a blow to global trade

 

U.S. added just 73,000 jobs in July and numbers for prior months were revised much lower

 

 

 

Trump's $170 billion tax hike on the American consumer

 The seasonally-adjusted annual rate of Trump's tariffs leaped from $96 billion in 1Q to $266 billion in 2Q.

The federal government farts through $20 billion every day, so this annualized tariff revenue goes Poof in less than two weeks, matching just 3.6% of federal outlays.

The numbskulls in the US Senate like Josh Hawley want to redistribute these tax revenues in the form of rebate checks to the taxpayers.

Wouldn't it have been easier and more efficient and more fair not to have taxed us in the first place?

Note that Donald Trump's Bureau of Economic Analysis, run by Howard Lutnick, still must call this what it is, taxes on imports lol, despite what his Treasury Secretary was still saying in June:

Bessent claims tariffs aren’t taxes.

 

 

 

GOP U.S. Senate: Feckless lickspittles without two brain cells to rub together propose rebates of surpluses WE DO NOT HAVE

 

The goods trade deficit in May was $96 billion, in June $85 billion.

The only thing that's changed is consumers are now being taxed on those trade deficits. The numbskulls of the GOP U. S. Senate are proposing rebates of these taxes to the people paying them.

It's all completely ludicrous.

It would have been easier simply not to have imposed the taxes in the first place.

If there's a way to lower the standard of living of American consumers, Mad King Ludwig is sure to find it.  

 

Senate introduces bill for tariff rebate checks after Trump suggestion 

 

... The Treasury Department reported an unexpected surplus for June, with a boost from tariff revenue. Customs duties totaled roughly $27 billion for the month, compared to $23 billion in May. The duties reflect a 301% gain from June 2024. ... 

 

 

 

The great impediment to a U. S. - Canada trade deal which most people in the U. S., including our dunce of a president, don't seem to understand is that it's not Mark Carney standing in the way, it's Canada's sovereign 10 provinces and 3 territories

 

Canada is today's poster child for America's bad old system of states' rights.

Canada does not have free trade with itself, let alone with the United States. Imagine not being able to drive an 18-wheeler cross country. 

 

 Is Canada now free of internal trade barriers? Not yet, says expert: Breaking down interprovincial trade barriers is still a work in progress, says expert

... When Carney made his campaign promise, he was talking about cutting red tape put up by the federal government — not the rules set by the provinces, which have the most authority in this area. ... 

There is no comprehensive list of existing internal trade barriers. Even some lobby groups have told parliamentarians they don't know how many barriers their own industries face.

There isn't even consensus on what all counts as a trade barrier. ...

Internal Trade Minister Chrystia Freeland, who has repeatedly stated that most of the barriers are at the provincial level, testified to the Senate that she will meet with her provincial counterparts on July 8 to discuss next steps.

One major obstacle is in Freeland's crosshairs: Canada's patchwork of interprovincial trucking regulations.

"One of three areas that I will be putting on the agenda at that meeting is trucking," she said on June 16. "It should be a lot easier than it is to drive a truck from Halifax to Vancouver. We need to get rid of conflicting requirements."

 

 

Looks like there's a new chart at FRED which tracks Trump's goods-trade deficits lol, $96.5 billion in May

 

Update Jul 29, 2025:

OK, so it appears it's not a new chart series. It's an advance report of the most recent month without showing the previous months. May goods trade balance was $96 billion in the hole (above), now June is $85 billion in the hole (below).

Trump wants goods trade surpluses but isn't getting them. And good luck to him. America stopped being a net exporter of goods in 1969, at which time the chart for that stopped being updated (also below).

 

 

 

 

Trump administration fails to intimidate Canada, goes Galt and ends trade talks

 

Trump ends all U.S. trade talks with Canada over digital services tax

 

 

 

 

 

 

... The first payments from Canada’s digital services tax, which was enacted last year and applies retroactively to 2022, are set to be collected Monday. The tax would hit both domestic and foreign tech companies, including U.S. giants such as Amazon, Google and Meta.

Canadian officials said this month that they would not pause the digital services tax, despite ferocious opposition from the United States.

“Obviously, we think it’s patently unfair to do it retroactively,” Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said later Friday on CNBC’s “Closing Bell: Overtime.”

Bessent said the Trump administration was hoping that Carney’s government would “put a brake on” the tax “as a sign of goodwill.” ...

 

Trump's idea of good will is 50% tariffs on Canadian steel and aluminum, 25% tariffs on autos, an overall 10% tariff on most everything else, and a 25% "fentanyl" tariff.